L.A. Theater Works tackles autism

L.A. Theater Works has a new edge pushing radio production out. It is titled Lucy, written by Damien Atkins.

Is autism a disability “or an evolutionary adaptation?” the show’s summary blurb asks. Lucy, 13-years of age, has the malady. She has moved in with her “estranged, misanthropic mother.” This is new and difficult, because thus far she has lived her entire life with her father.

At present, Australian born Atkins lives in Toronto, Canada. His previous plays have also tackled loss. The Good Mother tells the story of a family struggling to hold on in the wake of an accident that left the mother bereft of her memory. The Mill explores a town with a dark secret involving a haunting or a terrible murder.

Lucy features Roxanne Hart as Vivian and Lucy DeVito as Lucy. Also on the cast are Geoffrey Lower, Sarah Rafferty, and Raphael Sbarge. The play is being offered under the rubric of L.A. Theatre Works’ Relativity Series, which focus on science oriented plays. Other plays in the series include War of the Worlds, a production about British mathematician Alan Turing, and the Scopes Monkey Trial.

About Matthew Lasar

Matthew Lasar is a co-founder of Radio Survivor and its business manager. He is the author of Radio 2.0: Uploading the First Broadcast Medium (http://tinyurl.com/jr8uknk) and teaches history at the University of California at Santa Cruz. Likes: deejays, classical music, Disco, postpunk, cats, free school lunches. Dislikes: money, ideologies, claims that technology will fix everything. Follow him on twitter at @matthewlasar.